TOP PHOTO: Homemade cheese straws, made in advance, frozen and heated in the oven. Photo courtesy Cabot Cheese. BOTTOM PHOTO: Stuffed mushrooms. Photo courtesy GoodCook.com.

Make fancy appetizers in advance, freeze them and simply heat them when guests arrive.

Just about every hot hors d’oeuvre can be made up to six weeks in advance and popped into the freezer. Then when the first guests arrive, just pop a baking sheet in the oven.

What can you make? For starters, these 10 crowd favorites:

 
Another time saver: These frozen bites can generally be heated at the same oven temperature for about the same amount of time, so you don’t have to babysit the oven.
 
HOW TO FREEZE YOUR HORS D’OEUVRE

As with anything you stick in the freezer, use airtight containers or heavy-duty resealable plastic bags.

 
WHAT DOES “HORS D’OEUVRE” MEAN?

Hors d’oeuvre (pronounced or-DERV and spelled without an “s” at the end in French, whether singular or plural) are one- or two-bite tidbits served with cocktails. They can be placed on a table for self-service, or passed on trays by the host or a server.

Hors d’oeuvre is French for “outside the [main] work,” referring to foods served outside of the main meal. From the late 17th century through the mid-19th century, popular hors d’oeuvre for the affluent French included clams and oysters on the half shell, stuffed eggs, slices of beef tongue and quail tidbits. [Source]

Talk about excess: In the 19th century, extending into the 20th century, salted nuts, olives, and crudités—the “relish tray” of raw carrots, celery, radishes and the like–would be on the table throughout the meal so people could fill in between courses.

Technically, the term hors d’oeuvre refers to small, individual food items that have been prepared by a cook. Thus, a cheese plate is not an hors d’oeuvre, nor is a crudité tray with dip, even though someone has cut the vegetables and made the dip.

Canapés—small crustless pieces of bread† or pastry with a savory topping—arose in France in the 18th century, with Britain adopting the practice in the 19th century.

Canapés have been joined in modern times by hot options such as baby lamb chops, brochettes (skewers), cheese puffs, crab cakes, mini quiches and many other options. A more modern approach is the mixed appetizer plate, several pieces plated and served as an appetizer (first course). [Source]

Classic French canapé trays. TOP PHOTO: Caviar Russe serves them on a silver tray. BOTTOM PHOTO: Payard sells canapeés that you serve on your own fancy tray.

*A 17th century English idiom, “groaning board” refers to a dining table laden or buffet with a large amount of food. In old literature, we see it referred to regularly by characters staying or supping at a tavern. The “groan” refers to the purported creaking and groaning noises produced by the wood of the table under the weight of the food. At the time, “board” was another word for “table” (and is the genesis of “room and board” and “boarding house”). At major feasts, the large table required was often a long board held up by trestles—think sawhorse held up by wooden legs.

†Stale bread was often used as a base for the toppings, as it had hardened into the consistency of toast. The crusts were always removed to make them more elegant.
  

TOP PHOTOS: Minty marshmallow marvels for Christmas snacking. BOTTOM PHOTO: Buying peppermint candy crunch saves you the time of trying to evenly crush whole peppermints or candy canes. Photo courtesy King Arthur Flour. Photos courtesy King Arthur Flour.

To bring to a party or for homemade gifts, marshmallows are a delightful alternative to cookies. This holiday, from King Arthur Flour, pack lots of peppermint in every bite.

For a milder peppermint flavor, simply omit the optional peppermint oil. (Personally, we love lots of mintiness. We also recommend the optional red gel paste to get the beautiful color in the photo.)

Prep time is 20 minutes to 30 minutes, cook time is 10 minutes to 15 minutes. Marshmallows are best made a day in advance, so they can set in the pan before cutting. Here are step-by-step photos.

Here’s another recipe for no-crunch Green Peppermint Marshmallows.
 
 
RECIPE: PEPPERMINT CRUNCH MARSHMALLOWS

Ingredients For 24 Marshmallows

 
Ingredients

1. COMBINE the gelatin and 1/2 cup of the cool water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Set the bowl aside. Grease a 9″ x 13″ pan (glass or ceramic is best) and a dough scraper, and set both aside.

2. COMBINE the sugar, corn syrup, salt and the remaining 1/2 cup cool water in a small, deep saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 238°F to 240°F on a candy or digital thermometer. Remove from the heat.

4. ADD the peppermint crunch and red gel paste, and mix just until you can see swirls of red and white. Spread the marshmallow into the greased pan with the greased dough scraper.

5. WET your fingers and use them to smooth and flatten the marshmallow in the pan. Sprinkle the glazing sugar or confectioners’ sugar over the top, and let sit for several hours (or overnight) before cutting.

6. USE a greased knife or cookie cutters to make squares or other shapes. You can cut about two dozen 2″ marshmallows or eight dozen 1″ marshmallows (we prefer the larger size for visual impact).

7. WRAP the marshmallows airtight in plastic. They can be stored for several days at room temperature.
  

KEURIG 2.0 K200/K250 SINGLE SERVE BREWER

Designed with a smaller, more compact footprint, the K200/K250 (the difference is extra accessories) is sized right for small kitchens, dorm rooms, small office spaces (we have one on our desk).

The best small footprint single-serve machine we’ve tried, it takes up half the space of our Keurig 2.0 K450. The Keurig 2.0 series brews a single-serve cup or 4-cup carafe (the carafe is an extra purchase and uses a larger pod).

It’s also good for homes that don’t brew a lot of single-serve coffee. If you just brew one or two cups in the morning and/or evening, why take up the space with a 70-ounce water reservoir?

The SRP is $109.99. Learn more at Keurig.com.

 
K-CUPS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Small footprint, big convenience: the Keurig 2.0 K200 series. Photo courtesy Keurig.

The ceramic grinder is better than a metal
blade. Photo courtesy Kyocera.

KYOCERA SLIM ADJUSTABLE COFFEE MILL

Coffee purists won’t use K-cups. They want their beans freshly ground.

There have long been single-cup coffee makers, but this is the first grinder we’ve personally that’s great for small brews. It’s sized to grind the beans for one or two cups, instead of an entire pot.

It’s the right gift for the coffee lover who wants to brew freshly ground beans.

The grinder has a highly durable ceramic grinding mechanism; the adjustable dial enables fine to coarse grinds. A nice addition is the non-slip silicon base that provides stability when grinding.

It’s $44.95 at KyoceraAdvancedCeramics.com

You may not feel up to making a Bûche de Noël (Yule Log Cake), but you can certainly make a wreath cake.

While there is trend to pull-apart cupcake wreath cakes, we decided to try a traditional one.

This recipe was adapted by Audra, The Baker Chick from one on AllRecipes.com. It’s the third photo, requires no piping skills, and although it’s not as showy, it’s much easier to serve and eat.
 
 
RECIPE: CRANBERRY BUTTERMILK UPSIDE DOWN WREATH CAKE

Prep time is 15 minutes, bake time is 50 minutes.

Ingredients For 10 Servings

 
For The Decoration

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Spray or grease a 10-inch ring pan thoroughly‡.

2. COMBINE the half stick of butter, 3/4 cup white sugar, cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted; then add the cranberries, tossing until they are coated in the butter mixture. Pour into the bottom of the cake pan and set aside.

3. CREAM together the 6 tablespoons of butter with the remaining ½ cup of white sugar and the brown sugar in a large mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, one at a time, the rest of the vanilla and the buttermilk.

[1] A professional wreath cake from Frederick’s Pastry. Feel like practicing your piping skills?

[2] A wreath of cupcakes from Beautiful Life.

[3] An easier-to-make cranberry wreath cake. Here’s the recipe from The Baker Chick.

5. BAKE for 35-50 minutes, depending on your oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

6. MAKE the frosted grapes. Garnish before serving.

____________________________
 
*If you don’t have buttermilk, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar to enough milk to make 1 cup.

†Fresh evergreen can impart strong sap or needles.

‡There is not enough batter to fully fill out a bundt pan.
  

[2] A classic cocktail sauce with its favorite partner, shrimp (photo © Sheri Silver | Unsplash).

[3] Oysters on the half shell with mignonette sauce. The recipe is below (photo © Whole Foods Market).

[4] A crab (crabmeat) cocktail. Here’s the recipe (photo © Cooking Mamas).

Oysters are one of our favorite foods, and a very easy course to prepare. We often serve them as an appetizer at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve dinners.

Instead of cocktail sauce—ketchup with horseradish—make it seasonal by mixing cranberry sauce with the horseradish. In addition to oysters on the half shell, you can use it as a condiment with fried or roasted oysters.

Below you’ll find:

> A recipe for classic American cocktail sauce.

> A recipe for French mignonette sauce.

> The history of cocktail sauce.

> The history of mignonette sauce.
 
 
RECIPE #1: CRANBERRY COCKTAIL SAUCE

You can use any cranberry sauce that you can measure in a cup (i.e., not a can of jelled cranberry sauce).

For this particular recipe, we purchased store-bought cranberry sauce since the strong horseradish flavors covers over the flavor nuances of homemade sauce. We bought the fresh variety, although we could have saved money by purchasing their version in a jar.

You can use either plain prepared horseradish (an off-white color) or beet horseradish (red). We tend to buy the red version for both color and a bit more flavor.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PULSE the cranberry sauce and horseradish to combine. Taste and add more horseradish or a splash of vinegar as desired.

2. TOP the plated oysters with the cocktail sauce. Garnish with lemon zest.

3. GARNISH the entire platter with whole cranberries and greens (we like spinach leaves for a holiday look), and serve.
 
 
RECIPE #2: CLASSIC COCKTAIL SAUCE

The history of cocktail sauce follows.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.

2. TASTE and adjust: more horseradish for heat, more lemon for brightness, more hot sauce for a kick.

3. CHILL for at least 15–30 minutes before serving to let flavors meld.

You can vary the vinegar (champagne, cider, herb, malt, sherry) or using a different allium (leeks, red onion, scallions). A squeeze of lemon or lime juice and snipped mint or tarragon will make an already wonderful sauce truly wonderful.

The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for a 1 month or so.

The history mignonette sauce follows.

Ingredients For 2/3 Cup

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the ingredients in a small bowl and stir until well blended (you can also use a small jar and shake).

2. COVER and chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight. The longer you let the ingredients infuse, the better the infusion of flavor.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF COCKTAIL SAUCE

The history of cocktail sauce dates to the early 20th century, with the rise of shrimp cocktail in American restaurants.

“Cocktail,” of course, was the term used for alcoholic mixed drinks. But by the late 1800s, restaurants began to serve cold seafood appetizers like shrimp cocktail in a stemmed glass. Thus “cocktail sauce” was a play on the seafood “cocktail” served in the glass.

Early seafood cocktails were often dressed with spicy vinegar-based sauces like the classic mignonette sauce for oysters. Sometimes horseradish was added for spicy heat.

But by the 1920s, a tomato ketchup-based sauce spiked with horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and hot sauce—what we now call cocktail sauce—spicy and tangy with a bit of sweetness from the ketchup, emerged as the favorite.

Commercial brands like Heinz helped to popularize recipes for the home in ads starting in the 1930s.

By the mid-20th century, shrimp cocktail became a staple of upscale American dining.

The 1950s and 1960s were the heyday of cocktail sauce, mostly via the shrimp or crab cocktail that was such a popular first course.

Cocktail sauce remains a classic condiment in the U.S. and U.K., especially for shrimp, oysters, crab, and clams, as well as fried seafood.

It has even found its way onto sandwiches, especially roast beef, and as a spicy meatloaf glaze.

Mix it with mayonnaise, sour cream, or yogurt and you have a dip for crudités!
 
 
THE HISTORY MIGNONETTE SAUCE

Mignonette sauce—the classic French condiment of vinegar, shallots, and cracked pepper—evolved in the 19th century as a condiment for raw oysters, along with lemon wedges (photo #3).

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the word mignonnette referred to a cloth sachet of crushed peppercorns and spices that was dropped in the pot to flavor stocks and broths. Over time, the word came to mean coarsely ground pepper.

By the 19th century, French chefs began using the term for a simple vinegar-shallot-pepper condiment for oysters. The earliest English-language references to modern mignonette sauce date to the late 1800s.

By the early 20th-century, the recipe was standard in French and other European cookbooks. It gained spread to the U.S., U.K., and elsewhere with French chefs.

__________________

*You can use any vinegar, but balsamic or flavored vinegar (balsamic, fruit or herb vinegar) will add another nuance to the cocktail sauce.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.